Computer Aids to Mental Health Care

Abstract

Computer systems are being used increasingly to aid the assessment and self-treatment of mental health problems in adults. Systems vary hugely in the extent to which they meet all patients ' assessment and therapy needs and save clinicians ' time. Hardly any single system 1) performs every task required from initial screening to the end of follow-up, 2) works 100% independently of contact with a clinician or technician, and 3) is widely available and supported. Most systems use desk- or laptop computers. Some now use palmtop (hand-held) computers. A few employ computerized phone interviews (interactive voice response), usually from home. Virtual reality as a tool is embryonic. Computer aids save time in screening and outcome-tracking in a wide variety of problems. Computer aids to treatment have had promising outcomes in phobic, anxiety, panic, and obsessive-compulsive disorders, nonsuicidal depression, obesity, and smoking cessation. Some systems are installed in a few places as part of everyday clinical care. A growing number should soon be robust enough to ease the lives of many patients, practitioners, and researchers if use of the systems is carefully integrated into normal clinical practice.